forgiven

Aside from Thanksgiving day, Alexander and I have only one plan to do together during his break:  see a Saturday afternoon screening of American Hustle, a film we both want to see.

Alexander comes home on Wednesday announcing all he has to do.  Watch a movie for a class.  Write a 6-page paper on it.  Revise another paper.  And prepare for a final.  But he’s easily distracted.  Last night for example, instead of staying home and working on his paper, he goes out with Michael and Adam to see 12 Years a Slave and have sushi after.  I can’t blame him for wanting to do that versus writing a paper.

This morning, Alexander has a 10am haircut with Jun, a Japanese stylist at Tokuyama Salon, the same place where I go and love.

He gets up at 9:40 and announces, “I can’t see the movie today.  I have too much to do.”  I have watched Alexander waste so much time and now, the one thing we had planned to do together, he is not going to do.  I am disappointed and upset.  I express that, and he blows up.  “Fine, I’ll go but then I’ll write a really sh**ty paper.”  I tell him not to bother as I don’t want to be responsible for his sh**ty paper.  We have run out of time to argue further and Alexander leaves for his hair appointment.

I go to the library, and start my own studying, having forgotten about our argument.

Alexander returns home with two things.  One expected, one not.

A great hair cut:

And a gorgeous bouquet of flowers:

His sweetness overwhelms me.  I immediately say, “You are totally forgiven.” 

An hour or so later he says, “Boy, buying you flowers sure saves a lot of time.  I bet if I hadn’t you’d want to talk about our fight this morning, and we’d still be arguing.”

We go to the screening, and sit next to David Denby, the film critic for The New Yorker.   It’s his second time seeing the film and he describes it this way, “Heavenly.”  And it is.  It’s a great afternoon.